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Ranger Rick: I Can Read
Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Gorilla
Explore the lives of gorillas with Ranger Rick in this beginning reader with full-color photos of gorillas in the wild! What if you wished you were a gorilla and then you became one? Could you eat like a gorilla? Sleep like a gorilla? Live in a gorilla family? And would you want to? Find out! Ranger Rick explorers can learn all about gorillas in this reader full of fascinating facts, vivid wildlife photographs, a Wild Words glossary, and a hands-on activity about how to make a snack like a gorilla! Ranger I Wish I Was a Gorilla is a Level One I Can Read, which means it’s perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published January 2, 2018
About the author
Jennifer Bove
27 books8 followersJennifer Bové is an award-winning contributor to Ranger Rick Jr®, children's book author, and editor of three anthologies. Jen's work is often inspired by nature and her background in field biology, which brought her face-to-face with wild things like elephant seals, sandhill cranes, salmon, and snakes. She currently lives with her family in Wyoming.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 25, 2019
6/25/2019 ~ An appealing, well-organized, attractive early reader about gorillas.
* The text is organized with questions as section headers. These section headers are reasonably consistent across the series.
- Where would you live?
- What would your family be like?
- How would you learn to be a gorilla?
- How would you talk?
- What would you eat?
- How would you wash up?
- Where would you sleep?
- How would growing up change you?
* The book is illustrated with photographs (not drawings); a feature that I've found more appealing with my young readers.
* Several spreads have Ranger Rick the Raccoon asking readers to pause to think about how the information could connect to their own lives.
* There is a glossary and connected activity at the end of the book.
I wish the author had included a map of Africa with a drawing of the gorilla's range, and that specific countries in Africa were mentioned. It's never too early to start teaching young readers that the continent of Africa is broken up into countries.
This series of about six books would be a valuable addition to elementary libraries, especially for emerging readers who prefer nonfiction over stories. Offer these books to readers who might otherwise be reading the Biscuit books.
A note about text complexity: I've found that the levels on I Can Read books can be deceiving. Normally, I think of a Level 1 (as these books are) to have 3-5 words per page. For these books though, there are 3-6 lines per page, making them a bit more challenging.
* The text is organized with questions as section headers. These section headers are reasonably consistent across the series.
- Where would you live?
- What would your family be like?
- How would you learn to be a gorilla?
- How would you talk?
- What would you eat?
- How would you wash up?
- Where would you sleep?
- How would growing up change you?
* The book is illustrated with photographs (not drawings); a feature that I've found more appealing with my young readers.
* Several spreads have Ranger Rick the Raccoon asking readers to pause to think about how the information could connect to their own lives.
* There is a glossary and connected activity at the end of the book.
I wish the author had included a map of Africa with a drawing of the gorilla's range, and that specific countries in Africa were mentioned. It's never too early to start teaching young readers that the continent of Africa is broken up into countries.
This series of about six books would be a valuable addition to elementary libraries, especially for emerging readers who prefer nonfiction over stories. Offer these books to readers who might otherwise be reading the Biscuit books.
A note about text complexity: I've found that the levels on I Can Read books can be deceiving. Normally, I think of a Level 1 (as these books are) to have 3-5 words per page. For these books though, there are 3-6 lines per page, making them a bit more challenging.
August 1, 2022
If you wish to teach children incorrect grammar, give them this book. How can an author, editor, and publisher all be ignorant about the subjunctive mood?
The title should be, "I Wish I Were a Gorilla".
https://strategiesforparents.com/i-wi...
The title should be, "I Wish I Were a Gorilla".
https://strategiesforparents.com/i-wi...
January 16, 2026
Wayne got a stuffed gorilla for Christmas and has been obsessed ever since. This was quite decent for its size as an introduction...and Wayne has been pounding his chest saying, "Stay away from my troop!" since our second read-through. Next stop: zoo.
January 28, 2019
This is a cute book my son picked out. It is a beginner book that is a little more challenging.
September 13, 2019
Lincoln enjoys this series!
February 1, 2018
I really want to get behind this series, but I just don't like the way they're presented. From the cringe-inducing grammar in the titles (WERE. I wish I WERE this animal. It's subjunctive.) to the way they end (we just spent a whole book telling you how cool these animals are, and the title says you want to be one, but here are all the reasons why that's a terrible idea, it's pretty awful, huh? Ha ha ha!) they just really miss the mark for me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews